Following the confirmation of Leonard Steven Grasz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Tuesday night, the United States Senate is preparing to put two more of Donald Trump's extreme, anti-LGBT judicial nominees on the federal bench.

Minnesota's governor has chosen Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to fill Sen. Al Franken's seat until the November election, and she will run in that election to complete the final two years of Franken's term, a Democratic operative told The AP Wednesday.

President Donald Trump is defending his decision to initially back Sen. Luther Strange against Roy Moore in Alabama's Senate election, saying in a predawn tweet that "Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand got a fight she wants after President Donald Trump lashed out at the New York Democrat in a provocative tweet that claimed she'd begged him for campaign contributions and would "do anything" for them.